Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Protecting Jesus: John 8:31-59

Published December 11, 2020 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)

³¹To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

⁴⁸The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

⁵²At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through His ministry as He is visiting Jerusalem for a festival, Jesus gets in a debate with some Jews in the temple. As this debate is ending, Jesus makes one of His craziest claims, and this one claim shifts the focus of those He is debating from thinking He is crazy and should be ignored to He is crazy and should be killed.

Leading up to this moment, we find Jesus telling the Jews that they don’t know God the Father. Jesus says, “Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (v. 55-56)

I’m not sure if these Jews misunderstood Jesus when they responded, or if they were getting irritated and were trying to put words in His mouth. On hearing Jesus say this, they respond by saying, “You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!” (v. 57)

In Jesus’ earlier statement, unless there is something suggested in the original language, Jesus simply suggests to these leaders that Abraham looked forward to the day when God would send the Messiah. To make this point, Jesus could have used any of the hundreds of righteous people throughout Biblical history because they all looked forward to God’s Messiah. Jesus did not need to prove through scriptures that one of the greatest heroes in the Old Testament looked forward to the day when the Messiah would arrive.

However, Jesus recognizes this misunderstanding, but He also knows He has the conversation exactly where He wants it to make His greatest claim. It is at this moment Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!” (v. 58)

This claim is one that speaks directly to Jesus’ divinity. While Jesus had been alive on earth for only a little over 30 years, in this claim, Jesus points to His divinity and the fact that He existed as part of the Godhead prior to Abraham being born. This single claim would be enough to invalidate anyone’s ministry at any point in history, and in Jewish law, anyone making this claim was condemned to be stoned. John tells us that “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” (v. 59)

However, God would know the heart of anyone making this claim, and God the Father would not support a self-centered lunatic making this claim by also enabling this person to perform wonderful miracles to help draw attention onto himself. But God did visibly support Jesus, which gives authority to His hard-to-believe claims.

Also, while John describes the Jews picking up stones to throw at Jesus, He says that Jesus hid Himself and escaped the temple unharmed. While this is understated in John’s gospel, the only way for this to have happened is if God protected Jesus and allowed Him to get out. The part of the temple they were in was likely the innermost courtyard where only Jewish men could be, and Jesus would have needed to successfully navigate unseen past various checkpoints on His way out – all while He has a death warrant on His head.

This leaves us with one conclusion: Since God supported Jesus and His crazy sounding claims about divinity and because God protected Jesus until the right time and place for His death to fulfill prophecy, we must conclude that Jesus’ was truly the Son of God. This also means that He existed before time began and that even if we don’t always understand what He taught, His life and death on the cross demonstrates God’s love for each of us!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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The Amazing Miracle-Challenge: John 21:15-19

Published December 10, 2020 in Audio Journal Entries

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In our last episode, we began focusing on the final official miracle the gospel writers include, and we discovered that in Jesus’ repeated miracle of fish multiplication, each of these disciples received a subtle second chance and a second invitation. However, Peter, in addition to this subtle invitation, gets an extra special chance to talk with Jesus, and the first portion of this conversation will be where we discover God’s greatest miracle that we can be a part of.

While salvation may be the greatest miracle in the history of the world, salvation isn’t something we step into. Jesus did everything necessary for salvation, and then He offers His salvation to us as a gift. The not-often-thought-of-as-a-miracle we will focus in on in this episode is a miracle we can step into.

Let’s start by jumping back into our event and reading Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 21, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 15, John tells us that:

¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

In this conversation, we discover an amazing truth that comes with our gift of a second chance. Similar to how Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. There is an interesting wordplay involved in this passage with the Greek word that is used for love here, but we won’t focus on that in this episode.

Instead, we’ll look at the response Jesus gives to Peter after each time Peter tells Jesus that he loves Him. In each of Jesus’ three responses, we discover a unique angle on a similar topic. Feeding lambs, taking care of sheep, and feeding sheep are all similar activities, but they are also distinct.

The amazing miracle in this portion of Jesus’ conversation is that with His forgiveness, Jesus trusts us with His people. Let that sink in for a minute. God could have simply forgiven us, but left the care and guidance for His people with the unfallen angels. Alternatively, God could have forgiven us, but done so conditionally, and based on us responding to Him in a certain way.

Both of these alternate ideas is understandable, but this is not Peter’s experience. Instead, Jesus forgives Peter and then challenges him to help take care of his fellow believers, both the young believers, as well as his fellow disciples. While this might be a commission just for Peter, I doubt the early church viewed it that way. Instead, every believer, when they have received forgiveness is entrusted with feeding, taking care of, and helping other believers. God trusts us with His people.

God hasn’t left us without help for this challenge. He has promised us the Holy Spirit, and as His people grew in number, we would have each other looking out for others with us. When everyone is looking out for one another, then we are all seeking each other’s best interests, and we are reflecting God’s character to the world around us.

As I describe this, it seems a little disheartening that I look out at the broad church that carries Jesus’ name and I don’t see this happening. There are plenty of positive examples of Christians looking out for each other, but all too often, we hear or read more about a Christian looking out for themselves, putting another person down, or trying to exert power or influence over another person.

Jesus stepped down into this world to lift other people up, and when we are genuinely reflecting Jesus, we will be stepping down to lift others up as well. God could have left the work of evangelism and helping others to the angels, but instead, He gives us the opportunity to join with Him and be a blessing to those He brings into our lives.

It is also significant to note that Jesus predicted Peter’s big denial. Jesus knew, and He told Peter, how Peter would deny Him three times before the morning came, and this happened exactly as Jesus described, regardless of how much Peter denied the possibility of that even occurring.

In the last portion of this conversation that we read, Jesus gives Peter another prediction about Peter’s life moving forward. Before inviting Peter to follow, Jesus tells him in verse 18, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” While this doesn’t sound like much of a prediction, John tells us that Jesus’ words describe how Peter would finish his life glorifying God.

Jesus knows our future, and He knows what will bring us safely into eternity. While we might not have as clear of a prediction as Peter that we will reach an age we would consider “old”, the promise we have is that Jesus knows our future and He is passionate about seeing us saved for eternity. We don’t know when our life on earth will end, or even what the circumstances surrounding our end will be, but we know that Jesus knows, and that while He has work for us to do in this world, He will keep us safe to do His work in this world.

God has called us to partner with Him to love and take care of others, and He knows our future. Jesus came to give His life to redeem us and we can trust that He is preparing a place for us to live with Him when His timing is right. Our challenge and our goal is living with and living for Jesus with every breath we are given!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first in your life and trust that He will guide your steps into the life He wants you to live. Intentionally focus on lifting others up, on looking out for others, and on helping, loving, and serving where you are able to. Live a life that glorifies God by loving and helping sinners.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God. While learning from others is okay to do, never let your relationship with God be dependent on others. God wants a personal relationship with you, and a personal relationship is “personal”. Focus on growing closer to God each and every day.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Miracles – Episode 50: In Peter’s last recorded conversation with Jesus, discover some amazing things we can learn about who Jesus called His followers to be, and some ways we can apply Jesus’ challenge to Peter into our own lives over 2000 years later.

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Understanding the Signs: Matthew 16:1-4

Published December 9, 2020 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 16:1-4 (NASB)

In this brief dialog with the Pharisees that is included in our passage for this journal entry, Jesus makes a fascinating statement. While pushing back against the Pharisees request for a sign, Jesus says in the last part of verse 3, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?”

This got me thinking about how we look for signs around ourselves today. Are we quick to dismiss the signs God sends because we can easily understand them? Or are we quick to discount a miracle because God used a professional (such as a doctor) to be His hands working out a key part of the problem?

And then looking closer at what Jesus is saying, are we easily able to determine the weather from the appearance of the sky but are blind to the signs (trends) that are happening all around us from a spiritual perspective?

It would seem that from Jesus’ words, He sees more value in understanding the “signs of the times” than He does in discerning weather patterns. Both use a similar logical path of observing and predicting based on the evidence, but only when looking from a spiritual perspective on the events of the world are we then able to start understanding how God is moving during the times we live in.

The Pharisees were so intent on something spectacular that could only be done by God that they missed or ignored all the small signs that pointed to the same truth. Jesus wasn’t all that interested in performing great signs and wonders when He came the first time, and because of this, when He returns, chances are high that He won’t be all that interested in performing great signs and wonders on His next visit.

Instead, by understanding the times we are living, and by looking at life through a spiritual perspective, specifically looking for how God is working and moving, we are able to open our eyes to what He is doing during our lifetime – and before concluding this big idea, it is critical to mention that this is only successfully done by studying the Bible to help us understand God and what He is truly like.

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Giving Light to Our World: John 8:12-20

Published December 8, 2020 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 8:12-20 (NCV)

¹² Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.”

¹³ The Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards. I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But when I do judge, I judge truthfully, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. ¹⁸ I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”

¹⁹ They asked, “Where is your father?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” ²⁰ Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple, near where the money is kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.

Read John 8:12-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, Jesus shared a brief glimpse of His mission with a group of people present with Him. In what Jesus shares, we can learn what Jesus came to do and what He didn’t come to do – which happened to be different from what the religious leaders in that culture believed Jesus was doing.

To set the stage, John’s gospel describes Jesus opening by saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.” (v. 12)

While the Pharisees didn’t like the claims Jesus makes in this verse, what Jesus describes here is pretty powerful when we stop to think about it.

The first phrase Jesus says is simply, “I am the light of the world.” While Jesus’ statement is up for debate depending on who you talk to, this phrase is how Jesus describes Himself – which is important. While people throughout that culture had different views of Jesus, when we read this, we see how Jesus preferred to be seen.

To follow this phrase up, Jesus tells those present that “The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.” Part of me wonders what Jesus means when He says this. Does following Jesus literally mean that we will never experience dark points in our lives from this point forward?

Answering this question is tricky because there are plenty of cases in all our lives we could call dark or low points. However, I wonder if Jesus spoke this promise to help frame the people who follow Him always having something to look for and forward to. As followers of Jesus, we can always be looking for the ways He is moving in the world today, and we can always look forward to the promise of the second coming and heaven in our future.

Jesus gives light to our world because He came to show us a loving picture of God. By following Jesus and obeying His teachings, we are able to see God through new eyes and we see light where others see darkness – we see hope when others can only see despair.

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